The past.
The life behind you.
The story you have lived.
How does it make you feel?
The past may cause feelings of nostalgia.
Or sadness.
Or happiness.
Or excitement.
Or it might trigger something deeper within you.
Something that propels you forward in an unstoppable force.
Have you stopped to look at the past? To learn from it?
Often, we can get stuck in a trap of living and vocalizing.
Living and speaking about what has happened, what is happening, or what will happen.
Speaking stories of the past has a different payoff for different people.
For some, past stories bring hope of what is possible.
Or past stories bring the "good times" for once was.
Or past stories bring feelings of safety and certainty.
Or past stories bring self-criticism and a disconnection from who someone is.
Or past stories bring a sense of self and identity, reminding someone of who they are.
Or past stories bring empowerment of self and inspiration.
What does your past do for you?
If the story of your life does not inspire you, I invite you to learn how to use it to your advantage.
I invite you to learn how to use your past to benefit and serve you in a way that gives you strength.
In a way that gives you hope and inspires you to become who you are.
When we do not know how to see our past, the default can be to stay stuck there.
We can stay stuck there because we are still trying to make sense and meaning from it.
People who stay stuck can have a mental habit of asking themselves "why" questions – they're trying to understand something in the past.
"Objects in mirror appear closer than they are."
This doesn't need to be true in the way you see your life.
When we understand the power of our words, we know how our words serve us.
What words do you speak about your past?
How does that serve you?
What does that re-enforce in you?
What is your payoff?
Unaware, this can cause a great deal of pain and suffering.
But when you are aware...
You know better.
You know how to speak about who you once were.
You know what to highlight and bring into focus.
Use your past to serve you in a powerful way.
Use your past to remind yourself of who you really are.
Use painful stories and moments to inspire someone on how you did it.
Use the story of your life to teach others about what you value and what you believe.
Use the story of your life to connect and resonate with where someone else may be.
Use the story of your life to show people where you've been and where you're going.
And remember, your story is your story.
It is not who you are.
You get to decide that.
